Next Sunday afternoon I intend to be at Subiaco Oval.
For the first time in 18 years, Swan Districts will be playing in a Grand Final.
I’m sure that most people would be picking Subiaco to grab their third Premiership in a row, but win, lose or draw, Swans have had a remarkable year and taking the flag for 2008 is certainly not out of the question.
With a mid-season form slump that saw them lose several games in a row, no one would have predicted that the mighty black and whites could have lifted so well to place themselves in this year’s Grand Final, but after beating West Perth yesterday by ten points, they’re ready to fight for the ultimate prize in the WAFL competition.
The Swans led at the first change by six points, but trailed by 27 points at half-time as Adam Campbell fired up at full forward to try and put the game out of the Swans’ reach.
However, the ‘comeback kings’ of season 2008 controlled the majority of the second half to claim a 15.14 (104) to 14.10 (94) victory in front of 5556 fans at the Arena in the first preliminary final played away from Subiaco Oval since 1934.
Swans, the only team to have beaten the mighty Subiaco this season, will take on the Lions in the WAFL grand final next Sunday, September 21 at Subiaco Oval. - WAFL Website
I’ve only ever been to one other WAFL Grand Final. That was back in the early eighties when WAFL footy was still huge in Western Australia. I slept on the concrete outside the gate to ensure a good seat. When the gates opened thousands of people flooded in to stake their claim. I got a seat one row back from the fence which is where I sat all day to watch Swans win a Premiership.
There won’t be a full house at the game next Sunday but I certainly intend being there. It’ll be a lot more civilised as I wander up to the gate with my numbered ticket and then make my way to my seat, but I can assure you, victory will be just as sweet.
Swans will certainly go into the game as the underdogs but I’ll be hoping for a massive upset and big celebrations after the game.
One of the things that really hit home for me during my trip to Haiti and Dominican Republic with Compassion Australia was the extreme importance of writing letters to sponsored children. Hearing the children talking about their sponsors and the overwhelming joy they felt whenever they received a letter from them was an amazing revelation. We met one one lady who had been recognised by the President of her country for her incredible study results. She kept the certificate handed to her by the President in the same folder as the letters from her sponsor family. They were both precious to her and they were kept together as her most prized possessions.
In the post I mentioned at the Compassion International Blog this truth is demonstrated through the words of Roberto Medrano, a Compassion worker in El Salvador.
It is amazing the influence a sponsor can have on the child. For example, I remember a 25-year-old Compassion graduate. She is a Christian who is married and has two babies. She also serves as a center worker. Even though she is an adult and loves Compassion’s ministry, she always cries because in the 15 years of sponsorship her sponsor did not write one single letter. She wrote her sponsor dozens of letters, but she never received any response.
If you sponsor a child through any aid agency, can I encourage you to make some time tonight to write that child a letter. My words here can’t even begin to express the influence your letters can have.
In Dominican Republic we spoke to a beautiful young lady who never once received encouragement from her parents for her schooling, yet because her sponsors kept in touch regularly over many years and encouraged her with her studies she is now achieving top results at university.
If you don’t yet sponsor a child I plead with you to do something about that today. If you’re in Australia I can get you signed up today, just contact me directly, or you can visit the Compassion Australia website. If you’re outside Australia you can go to the Compassion International website. Please let me know if you decide to change a child’s life through sponsorship.
Ever since he retired from professional cycling there have been rumours that Lance Armstrong would make a comeback, so when the latest rumours started circulating I figured that I wouldn’t believe them until I heard the words from from Lance’s own mouth.
If you click here you’ll see Lance telling the world that he’s back.
As well as the short video of Lance announcing his return to professional cycling there is a media release annoucning a few more details.
Today, Lance Armstrong, cancer survivor, founder and chairman of the Lance Armstrong Foundation (LAF) and cycling champion, released the following statement regarding his return to professional sports:
“I am happy to announce that after talking with my children, my family and my closest friends, I have decided to return to professional cycling in order to raise awareness of the global cancer burden. This year alone, nearly eight million people will die of cancer worldwide. Millions more will suffer in isolation, victims not only of the disease but of social stigma. After the passage of Proposition 15 in Texas, a $3 billion investment in the fight against cancer which is helping to make this disease part of the national dialogue in America, it’s now time to address cancer on a global level.”
Mr. Armstrong will discuss his cycling program and an international LIVESTRONGTM strategy on September 24th in New York City at the Clinton Global Initiative.
If he intends riding for an eighth tour victory, the 2009 Tour de France should be amazing. I can’t wait to see Evans, Contador, Armstrong, Sastre and several other serious contenders battle it out through France.
It’s simply titled Bob and it comes from Al’s 2003 album, Poodle Hat.
The video is styled in the fashion of Bob Dylan’s Subterranean Homesick Blues yet every line of the song is a palindrome, which essentially means that it’s the same forwards or backwards. it really shows that Weird Al Yankovic is a very clever writer.
We all swear it won’t happen next time but it always does.
As I previously mentioned, we’re looking at selling our home and so we’re busy repairing and sorting. I reckon by the time we’ve got our house ready to put on the market it’ll look so good that we won’t want to sell it.
We’ve certainly made a number of improvements over the past 15 years that have been just for us and which have improved the home for our own family but there always seems to be certain things that you always mean to get around to that only happen when you’re getting ready to sell.
We’ve wanted to change our driveway ever since we moved in back in September 1993 and we’ll finally get around doing something with it so that it looks OK for the next owners.
The problem for us has mostly been that I’m the world’s worst handyman. I marvel at those people who can spend a couple of afternoons in the yard and totally revolutionise their homes. I’m certainly not the kind of guy who should be left alone with power tools. I have made some advances and can handle certain small tasks but repaving a driveway …. I really wouldn’t know where to start.
I guess that wherever we end up moving we’ll just try to make the improvements for ourselves and not someone we don’t even know.
Have you ever noticed the same kind of thing? Have you ever surprised yourself with just how good your home is once you’ve prepared it for sale? Have you ever decided to stay because you’ve done such a good job of preparing your home to sell?
Just a quick note to let you know why posting has been a little light over recent days.
After considerable thought over recent weeks our family is looking to make some significant changes.
With my workplace about to move, Emily getting ready for High School next year, the ever changing needs of a growing family, and a number of other considerations, we’ve decided to test the market and look at the possibility of moving house. We’re currently in the process of trying to get our home ready for sale.
We’re starting to sort through the huge mass of belongings we’ve accumulated over the years to decide what to pack, throw or stow. We’re also looking at carrying out a number of home maintenance jobs, some gardening and repairs to the brick paving on our wonky driveway. (Any offers of help would be cheerfully accepted! )
We still haven’t settled on the exact area we’ll move to but we have a few ideas and feel confident that we can find something suitable within our price range.
Our current home has served us so very well for the last 15 years but it really feels like it’s time to move on.
September 14, 2008 
Next Sunday afternoon I intend to be at Subiaco Oval.
Posted by Rodney Olsen in Sport 
12 Comments » 
I’m just wiping the tears away after reading 
Ever since he retired from professional cycling there have been rumours that 
We all swear it won’t happen next time but it always does.
)
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